Latin American/North American Church Concerns (LANACC)
LANACC serves as a bridge between the Church and the academy by promoting the bilateral exchange of ideas and practices between North America and Latin America and the Caribbean. In particular, LANACC fosters pastoral bonds between the churches of the Americas.
Latin American/North American Church Concerns (LANACC) serves as a bridge between the Church and the academy by promoting the bilateral exchange of ideas and practices between North America and Latin America and the Caribbean. In particular, LANACC fosters pastoral bonds between the churches of the Americas.
LANACC interprets the Catholicism of Latin Americans to their fellow communicants in North America; promotes fraternity and unity between faith communities throughout our hemisphere, and encourages greater involvement of US churches in the ongoing quest for the peace, socioeconomic justice, and universal human dignity mandated by Jesus Christ.
Of particular note, LANACC has championed the scholarship and cause for canonization of St. Óscar Romero through annual Romero Days events that explore and celebrate the saint's legacy. Read more about Archbishop Óscar Romero here and view the panel discussion in celebration of his canonization here.
LANACC was founded in 1985 by the late Rev. Robert S. Pelton, CSC (1921-2019), who retired in 2015.
Walatka Named Director of Latin American/North American Church Concerns
January 14, 2026
After a handful of years without an official leader, the Latin American/North American Church Concerns (LANACC) initiative has a new director: Kellogg Faculty Fellow and Department of Theology Teaching Professor Todd Walatka. From leading reading groups, to organizing annual Romero Days events, Walatka has been an active member of LANACC for more than ten years and is already reenergizing the program as part of the Kellogg Institute’s commitment to the University of Notre Dame’s Strategic Framework.
‘A New Social Justice Agenda for the Present’
April 28, 2021
A Kellogg-supported book project that got its start during the coronavirus pandemic argues that St. Óscar Romero’s contributions to the theological understanding of Catholic social teaching have been overlooked. The contributors are developing the book through virtual sessions in a model that may be adopted for future projects.
Report on Ecclesia in America International Seminar, October 16 -18, 2021 Rio de Janeiro
20th Anniversary of Ecclesia in America: A North-South Dialogue on Church Reform, Global Politics, and Local Engagement
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Panel Discussion featuring Michael L. Budde, Depaul University, and María Clara Bingemer, Pontifical Catholic University, Río de Janeiro
Location: Hesburgh Center for International Studies, Auditorium
Pope John Paul II promulgated Ecclesia in America on January 22, 1999. Notre Dame celebrated the event with an international conference that fall of 1999. This May we recall both events. In both cases, we are recalling the vision of one Church for all the Americas, extending from Canada to Tierra del Fuego. The vision of Ecclesia in America goes directly to the mission of LANACC since its founding and is a call to renew the bonds of solidarity between North and South. Both CELAM (Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano) and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have met every two years, but these meetings of bishops do not get to the underlying theology or the need to renew the original vision in an academic and lay setting. In the fall of 2019, Maria Clara Bingemer and Peter Casarella will hold a meeting of Latino theologians and Latin American theologians in Brazil. This May 1st event will be a preview of that larger encounter and call to action for all Catholic universities to renew the hope inspired in 1999 by Saint John Paul II.
Romero Days 2019 - Belonging: The Church of Romero and the Gangs
March 18-20, 2019
LANACC Panel Discussion: Celebrating the Canonization of Saint Archbishop Óscar Romero
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Romero Canonized, Called ‘A Wonderful Pastoral Example to the World’
October 15, 2018
LANACC founder and Romero scholar Rev. Robert Pelton, CSC, 96, has spent his career studying Romero and traveled to Rome for the canonization. “I’m surprised how long it took to finally get to the truth about him,” he told The Guardian.
In the Media
LANACC founder and Romero scholar Rev. Robert Pelton, CSC, traveled to Rome for the canonization of Archbishop Óscar Romero which took place on Sunday, October 14. Several media outlets quoted him in their coverage of the events:
"Salvadoran priest Óscar Romero to be declared saint by Pope Francis" by Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian, October 11, 2018
"Interview: 'May Pope Francis Promote Romero as a Pastoral Model of Leadership for the Entire Church'" by Deborah Castellano Lubov, Zenit, October 11, 2018
"Archbishop Óscar Romero and Pope Paul VI Are Made Saints" by Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times, October 14, 2018
China and Latin America: New Approaches and Interaction for a Growing Cooperation
May 11-12, 2018
Recordings of key sessions
Alvernia lecture offers insights on Pope Francis
April 13, 2018
Faculty Fellow and Director of LANACC Peter Casarella says pontiff has struck emotional chord with many.
Conferencia “Romero Days,” un puente hacia el futuro
Super Martyrio - April 3, 2018
Romero Days 2018 wraps up
March 27, 2018
Dozens of participants took part March 23 and 24 in the annual Romero Days conference at the University of Notre Dame, hosted by Latin American/North American Church Concerns and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. The theme of the conference was “Memorializing Martyrdom: Romero’s Beatification and Our Task Today.”
Romero Days Conference Honors Legacy of Blessed Archbishop Óscar Romero
March 23, 2018
The Observer - by Lucy Lynch
A Conversation with Fr. Robert Pelton
March 21, 2018
Conversations and conversions: The Bob Pelton interviews, by Peter Cajka
In the Media: Archiving, Witnessing, and Discerning: The Task of the Theologian Today
March 21, 2018
Faculty Fellow and Director of LANACC Peter Casarella has written a blog for the Association of Theological Schools entitled "Archiving, Witnessing, and Discerning: The Task of the Theologian Today," where he discusses his journey as a Catholic lay theologian, his observations of Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, OP on a similar path, and thoughts for others in the field today. He encourages readers to consider, "How do your job and your vocation relate to and/or complement one another? What does your apostolado universitario look like? Is there any trace of una teología del apostolado?"
A Church that Goes Forth: From Mexico City to Tepeyac
February 21, 2018
As part of his role as part in promoting the collaboration between the University of Notre Dame and the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM), LANACC director Peter Casarella attended the installation of Carlos Cardinal Aguiar Retes as the 35th bishop of the Archdiocese of Mexico City on February 5, 2018. In this reflection, Casarella writes about the experience, its place in history, and its meaning for the wider Church.
Casarella Leads Digital Library Project Documenting Rise of Contemporary Latin American Church
August 29, 2017
LANACC Director, Peter Casarella, takes part in the 30th SOTER International Congress
"30º Congreso de la SOTER: la teología del pueblo no rechaza la teología de la liberación"
Vida Nueva - July 2017
Fr. Robert Pelton's Service in Chile: "Truth to Power"
Notre Dame Magazine (Spring 2017 issue)
Cardinals Bookend “Romero Days”
March 30, 2017
The 30th annual “Romero Days” took the form of an international conference on Christian discipleship, with scholars, clergy—including two cardinals—and lay people from around the world taking part.
Romero Days Keynote by Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga Now Available
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Romero Days 2017
Christian Discipleship: The Witness of Blessed Archbishop Óscar Romero
March 24-28, 2017
Rev. Robert Pelton, C.S.C. wins the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley - Award of the Year 2016
The Primacy of Relation and the Challenge of the Migrant — a LANACC conference in Rome
February 6, 2017
“Arzobispo Marcos McGrath, CSC: un pastor según el corazón del Concilio Vaticano II”
“Archbishop Marcos McGrath, CSC: A Pastor at the Heart of the Second Vatican Council”
(Lecture in Spanish with English translation)
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Cardinal José Luis Lacunza, OAR
Bishop of David, Panama
Pelton Receives Honorary Doctorate
May 4, 2016
Rev. Robert Pelton, CSC, has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Portland in recognition of his exemplary career as a “noted filmmaker, scholar, author, theology professor, and globetrotter” and lifelong commitment of service to Latin America and the Latin American Church.
Romero Days 2016
March 31 - April 1, 2016
Romero Days 2015 - LANACC Launches New Volume on Archbishop Romero
Latin American/North American Church Concerns (LANACC) hosts a panel discussion to celebrate Archbishop Romero and Spiritual Leadership in the Modern World, edited by Faculty Fellow Rev. Robert Pelton, CSC. The book grew out of a 2014 Kellogg conference.
International Conference on Archbishop Oscar Romero
September 25 - 28, 2014
Fr. Pelton’s Romero Film Honored by LASA
Monseñor, the Last Journey of Óscar Romero received top honors at the 2012 Film Festival of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA).